Now that the dust has settled on True Detective season two, it seems like the magic of the first season came from the volatile partnership between show runner Nic Pizzolatto and shiny young auteur Cary Fukunaga. Pizzolatto might have come up with the show’s story and anthology concept, but it was Fukunaga’s spell-binding directing that got people talking. The show runner and director are on the outs now — and there are rumors that Pizzolatto based a certain embarrassing ponytailed director character on his former collaborator — but Fukunaga is still credited as a Executive Producer on the series. That’s why it’s so surprising that Fukunaga still hasn’t bothered to watch any of True Detective season two.

Are you going to be involved in the third season of True Detective?
I’m always involved as an EP. Am I directing it? No.I heard you haven’t watched the second season.
I haven’t seen it yet, no.I don’t believe that.
It’s absolutely true.You’re the EP! What the hell?
They didn’t give me DVDs ahead of time, so I gotta watch it like everyone else would.You mean, like, on HBO Go or HBO Now, where it’s available to stream on your computer anywhere in the world the second it airs?
Yeah, but they finished it right when we started this thing, so I haven’t had time to sit down and watch it. I like to binge-watch.Be straight with me: You’ve said you heard about the director character but haven’t seen him. You’re telling me no one sent you a screenshot?
No, the people I know were on set. They don’t have access to screenshots.But it aired on TV. No friend took a picture of that character and texted it to you?
No, not even the editor, who’s my friend.It seems so unbelievable you’d be that removed.
I was pretty removed. I had no part in it whatsoever.But why?
Part of it was me making Beasts [of No Nation], and part of it was that they didn’t need me. Nic [Pizzolatto, the creator of True Detective] had a second season, he has his own directors, he didn’t need any input from me.

So, there you have it! It’s totally okay if you didn’t make it all the way through season two of True Detective because the show’s Executive Producer hasn’t even found time to get through any of it. Do you know what Fukunaga has found time to do? Watch Guardians of the Galaxy, which he apparently loved, get through three hours of Interstellar, write a bunch of new films, and finish his universally-acclaimed new film, Beasts of No Nation. Coincidentally, Beasts of No Nation premieres on Netflix on October 16. [Where to Stream True Detective]